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Author Topic: Is it worth to remove images that are not selling?  (Read 12762 times)

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« on: January 29, 2014, 07:00 »
0
Hello everyone, I read somewhere a long time ago that it is a good idea to prune own portfolio and get rid of photos that no one needs.

I am now thinking about making this step, but it is even necessary? I mean - most of the buyers probably search by keywords and if they get to one's portfolio, I guess it is sorted by selling rate so the not needed files are piled at the bottom and no one cares.

So, do YOU delete your unsuccessful files? Or what do you think about it?

Thank you!


ACS

« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2014, 07:12 »
0
Unless; I later discover a technical problem, a potential copyright issue, or the subject is limited to a specific time period (2013 calendars, London Olympics etc.) I never delete.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2014, 07:19 »
0
I agree with ACS, and get first time sales from old files, - even ones which somehow weren't demoted to Main on iS.

Ron

« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2014, 07:30 »
+2
Never, I have seen sales on images that never sold before.

cuppacoffee

« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2014, 07:31 »
0
If you dont delete non-sellers after a few years then you cant complain about there being too many images on the sites. I delete.

Shelma1

  • stockcoalition.org
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2014, 07:33 »
+4
Nope.. Extra work for no purpose.

« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2014, 10:48 »
0
Cool, that's what I thought. Thanks to everyone for your answers! I'll let that agencies cope with my files :)

Rinderart

« Reply #7 on: January 29, 2014, 11:42 »
+1
NEVER DELETE.

« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2014, 12:04 »
+4
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

« Reply #9 on: January 29, 2014, 12:29 »
+1
Depends on how the search engines return images to buyers. If there is a sort component based on sales per portfolio then deleting dross is a very good idea. If the sort is not based on any portfolio calculation then leave the images on the case when some body buys the lesser sold image and put s a few more pennies in your pocket. Now how do we determine if contributor portfolio calculations are in play?

Rinderart

« Reply #10 on: January 29, 2014, 13:04 »
0
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

Agree...But, Who defines Sh++t? me,You? lol

lisafx

« Reply #11 on: January 29, 2014, 13:15 »
+2
Depends on how the search engines return images to buyers. If there is a sort component based on sales per portfolio then deleting dross is a very good idea. If the sort is not based on any portfolio calculation then leave the images on the case when some body buys the lesser sold image and put s a few more pennies in your pocket. Now how do we determine if contributor portfolio calculations are in play?

I agree with that. Since none of us know what criteria are going to be used in the search engines at any given time, it seems foolish to delete photos which might at some point attract buyers to your portfolio. That is assuming that the pictures are attractive. If you have anything truly dreadful left over from early days there might be a reason to delete it.

Goofy

« Reply #12 on: January 29, 2014, 13:17 »
+3
Let the buyer determine if they are crap! Recently, I had an old (never sold once) image sell for $28 (EL)- I had thought about removing it a while back...

Rinderart

« Reply #13 on: January 29, 2014, 14:01 »
+1
Yep. Had many Like that on stuff so Old I honestly didn't recognize them. Im not deleting anything. They want it gone Like DT does. Let them do it.

« Reply #14 on: January 29, 2014, 14:43 »
0
Being primarily a buyer, I never look at anyone's individual ports. I simply view the search results, add images to light-box, then sort through those selected. The only times I've ever deleted an image from a site(s) is when a buyer wants exclusive rights to an image (only happened twice).

« Reply #15 on: January 29, 2014, 14:47 »
+2
Leave 'em up. It doesn't cost anything and there is always some mug out there who thinks a picture you made in 2007 of clothes pegs on a washing line is high art - and worthy of an extended licence.

« Reply #16 on: January 29, 2014, 14:54 »
+4
Being primarily a buyer, I never look at anyone's individual ports. I simply view the search results, add images to light-box, then sort through those selected. The only times I've ever deleted an image from a site(s) is when a buyer wants exclusive rights to an image (only happened twice).

Of course, in my post above I meant to write "valued customer" not "mug". Don't know how that happened.


fritz

  • I love Tom and Jerry music

« Reply #17 on: January 29, 2014, 20:17 »
+3
I'm afraid next year SS and other agencies will have to clean up their database so we don't have to remove non sellers. They'll do for us :) like DT did year ago! And it might not be such a bad idea, it's easier for us, buyers and agencies. Dealing with database larger than 50m is PITA for everyone.
Correct me if I'm wrong!

« Reply #18 on: January 29, 2014, 21:51 »
+1
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

Agree...But, Who defines Sh++t? me,You? lol
The customers do.

Rinderart

« Reply #19 on: January 30, 2014, 00:36 »
-3
True. If you believe the customer is always right. I do. having invested in and owned a chain of Very high end mens and womens clothing stores in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica..
« Last Edit: January 30, 2014, 00:39 by Rinderart »

« Reply #20 on: January 30, 2014, 00:53 »
+2
I was culling my portfolio on Alamy at one point - I'd printed out a bunch of  "contact sheets" of sorts from the site and was making notes of those I planned to remove  I'd culled some but then fortunately got caught up in something else because the next thing I knew they licensed one of the photos on my delete list for $290, back when I got a 60% commission. Since then, I've deleted very few files there, and a handful from DT that hadn't sold in the requisite number of years. I was kinda of bummed about the DT deletes since some of them have sold elsewhere. I wouldn't have deleted them except I had no choice. In fact, one of the files I deleted from DT last year has made nearly $200 elsewhere, the rest pennies, so no biggie. You just never know.

Sometimes time is on your side too. For the past two years I've been working with a client who requests yearly portfolios of stock photos for various calendars and similar items, licensing them for various amounts, depending upon region and usage. They also keep past images on file for potential later use, and yesterday I got a contract for $100 to license one image for a small regional calendar for 2015. The photo was in the batch I sent them back in August 2012, not the batch I sent in 2013, so you never know how things will pan out. It's similar to a couple of images they licensed last year, and was taken in 2009. They probably earmarked it for the future when they received it last year, since they send out the bulk of their contracts in April, May and June, so this was an early surprise.

That's the thing too, a buyer may have your image in a private lightbox, and plan to use it in the future.

So, I heartily agree, unless the image is truly awful, don't remove it. 

« Last Edit: January 30, 2014, 00:58 by wordplanet »

« Reply #21 on: February 01, 2014, 02:42 »
0
So, do YOU delete your unsuccessful files? Or what do you think about it?

I did it few years ago, but that was my begining and images were reaaallyyy hopeless. However, even in that images some client saw potential and bought it. Now I don't delete and glad DT stoped deleting old files. They are selling even after 4 years with 0 (zero) downloads before! I wonder how client find them in milions of fresh files ;)
The same images may sell very well with other agencies...

« Reply #22 on: February 01, 2014, 04:20 »
0
I don't see point in removing images because of bad sales. I had once image that didn't sell for a long time and one day it was bought with EL.

Gino

« Reply #23 on: February 01, 2014, 04:28 »
0
I had the same experience. One of my first images. Never sold and then $28 sale. So never delete anything.

« Reply #24 on: February 01, 2014, 04:40 »
0
Leave 'em up. It doesn't cost anything and there is always some mug out there who thinks a picture you made in 2007 of clothes pegs on a washing line is high art .
Hey, have you been stalking me?
I agree, though. How bad does an image have to be before you decide to prune it? In any case, a good designer might see a picture with lousy WB and see immediately that he can clean it up and get something usable.  You might have something as dull as Rheinwater and it turns out to be the biggest earner ever ;)

« Reply #25 on: February 01, 2014, 05:30 »
-3
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

Maybe you shoot sh..t, I do not.
Less is more!

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #26 on: February 01, 2014, 05:44 »
0
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"
Other than certain very high commercial ports repeating the same model, style or themes, I doubt if many customers bother to go through a port.
It could be different with illustrators, some of whom have a very distinct style which a buyer might like for a particular extended project (but could backfire on them when the buyer moves on to another project and doesn't want the same style).


Rinderart

« Reply #27 on: February 01, 2014, 16:08 »
+1
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

Maybe you shoot sh..t, I do not.

Would love to see your Port Pls.. a link Perhaps.
Less is more!

« Reply #28 on: February 01, 2014, 16:26 »
0
I had the same experience. One of my first images. Never sold and then $28 sale. So never delete anything.

Sure sure. Everybody are talking about the sales they get on old burried pictures.
So never delete a picture when it might earn  38 cents or even 28 dollars.

Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood.


« Reply #29 on: February 01, 2014, 16:29 »
0
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"
Other than certain very high commercial ports repeating the same model, style or themes, I doubt if many customers bother to go through a port.
It could be different with illustrators, some of whom have a very distinct style which a buyer might like for a particular extended project (but could backfire on them when the buyer moves on to another project and doesn't want the same style).
OR. the customer, might finally have found a mine of treasures, where he can get the nische content he wanted.

« Reply #30 on: February 01, 2014, 16:30 »
0
NEVER DELETE.


Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"


Maybe you shoot sh..t, I do not.
Less is more!

My port is here:
http://www.shutterstock.com/portfolio/search.mhtml?gallery_landing=1&gallery_id=88729&page=1&safesearch=1&sort_method=newest

Goofy

« Reply #31 on: February 01, 2014, 18:53 »
0
"Sure sure. Everybody are talking about the sales they get on old burried pictures.
So never delete a picture when it might earn  38 cents or even 28 dollars.

Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood."

This is a good point of view, at least in my eyes.  Sort of like sending a batch of images for review knowing one is not too good but hoping the reviewer will pass it. What happens if the first image that the reviewer sees is that one image that you know wasn't too good? It might turn them off thus they reject your entire batch! Of course, that never happens to us right... ;)


ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #32 on: February 01, 2014, 19:06 »
+1
Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood."
No, because if someone wants an apple in my port, they won't not buy the apple because they didn't like the photo of a jellyfish I uploaded years ago.
(NB, don't bother looking, I have neither apples nor jellyfish, these were just examples.)
What's much more likely to bother buyers is if, in looking for apples on any site, they have to wade through dozens of images of pears, plums, bananas, hedgehogs, sticking plasters and any old random files people had keyworded 'apple'.
More and more on iS, for example, I see people keywording entire batches of files with keywords which might or might not apply to one of the files in the batch.

Even in Jens' example of the niche, if my niche was spingleplonks, I don't think a buyer is going to not buy my red spotted spingleplonk which they need and can't find elsewhere because they don't like my green stripey spingleplonk.

But everyone has to hoe their own furrow. (And I don't have any stock of that, either.)

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #33 on: February 01, 2014, 19:17 »
0
However people may like to watch the pattern of the default sort order on the different sites to see if a cull might make sense on some sites (of files in more popular genres).
Just a possibility, I have no idea if this is so anywhere.

« Reply #34 on: February 02, 2014, 01:25 »
+1
Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood."
No, because if someone wants an apple in my port, they won't not buy the apple because they didn't like the photo of a jellyfish I uploaded years ago.
(NB, don't bother looking, I have neither apples nor jellyfish, these were just examples.)
What's much more likely to bother buyers is if, in looking for apples on any site, they have to wade through dozens of images of pears, plums, bananas, hedgehogs, sticking plasters and any old random files people had keyworded 'apple'.
More and more on iS, for example, I see people keywording entire batches of files with keywords which might or might not apply to one of the files in the batch.

Even in Jens' example of the niche, if my niche was spingleplonks, I don't think a buyer is going to not buy my red spotted spingleplonk which they need and can't find elsewhere because they don't like my green stripey spingleplonk.

But everyone has to hoe their own furrow. (And I don't have any stock of that, either.)
But they might find the red spotted on a search for spingleplon, because they looked into your port, because they liked the greenspotted.
Thats what  I do, when I see a picture I like, then I check the port, and see what else that guy has, because he is good.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #35 on: February 02, 2014, 08:57 »
0
Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood."
No, because if someone wants an apple in my port, they won't not buy the apple because they didn't like the photo of a jellyfish I uploaded years ago.
(NB, don't bother looking, I have neither apples nor jellyfish, these were just examples.)
What's much more likely to bother buyers is if, in looking for apples on any site, they have to wade through dozens of images of pears, plums, bananas, hedgehogs, sticking plasters and any old random files people had keyworded 'apple'.
More and more on iS, for example, I see people keywording entire batches of files with keywords which might or might not apply to one of the files in the batch.

Even in Jens' example of the niche, if my niche was spingleplonks, I don't think a buyer is going to not buy my red spotted spingleplonk which they need and can't find elsewhere because they don't like my green stripey spingleplonk.

But everyone has to hoe their own furrow. (And I don't have any stock of that, either.)
But they might find the red spotted on a search for spingleplon, because they looked into your port, because they liked the greenspotted.
Thats what  I do, when I see a picture I like, then I check the port, and see what else that guy has, because he is good.
I'm not a buyer, but I can also imagine that in my scenario, a different buyer might like the green stripey one better, or it just fits their layout better.
I guess the bottom line is that there's no definitive answer, it depends on each agency and the way they do their 'best match' equivalent - which doesn't apply to niches anyway.

« Reply #36 on: February 03, 2014, 21:47 »
+3
Another vote for NEVER

One man's junk is another man's treasure.  Sometimes your largest duds become your biggest exclusive buyouts on sites like DT, or EL sales elsewhere. 

Don't over analyze it, just keep making images and move forward, don't look back.  Paralysis of analysis.


« Reply #37 on: February 07, 2014, 00:06 »
+3
The one and only guarantee in this business is----If it is not available, it will not sell.  Deleting a file guarantees NO SALE, EVER. I cannot imagine deleting a file unless copyright issues are a potential liability.  I have had hundreds, no thousands of sporadic sales on old files with few or no previous sales.  I consider a portfolio to be simply a means for sales, not a work of art..  Today I sold a "piece of crap" portfolio filler for $55 EL.
« Last Edit: February 07, 2014, 00:11 by raclro »

Uncle Pete

« Reply #38 on: February 08, 2014, 11:52 »
+1

So, do YOU delete your unsuccessful files?

Or what do you think about it?

Thank you!

NO

Waste of time.

No one buys photos off my backup drives. Ever!  ;)

You're welcome.

lisafx

« Reply #39 on: February 08, 2014, 17:31 »
0
[quote author=Goofy link=topic=21847.msg363706#msg363706

This is a good point of view, at least in my eyes.  Sort of like sending a batch of images for review knowing one is not too good but hoping the reviewer will pass it. What happens if the first image that the reviewer sees is that one image that you know wasn't too good? It might turn them off thus they reject your entire batch! Of course, that never happens to us right... ;)
[/quote]

I think they are two separate issues.  Don't submit pictures you know are of low quality hoping they squeek by.  But if you have submitted images you believed to be good, and you still think they're good, I don't see a reason to delete them just because they are older.

« Reply #40 on: February 08, 2014, 17:55 »
0
No, its the  same mechanism.

and it is global, which is why shop owners throw out outdated goods.
Remember.. We are shops, arent we? Small individual shops with only 2 windows ( newest first and most popular).
So what does your shop have on display in the window? and do the customers walk by, or do they step in and begin to shop around?

« Reply #41 on: February 08, 2014, 19:14 »
+2
No, its the  same mechanism.

and it is global, which is why shop owners throw out outdated goods.
Remember.. We are shops, arent we? Small individual shops with only 2 windows ( newest first and most popular).
So what does your shop have on display in the window? and do the customers walk by, or do they step in and begin to shop around?

I think shop owners throw out outdated goods (except food) to clear up space for new stuff. There is essentially no limit to the space in the back of the shop here. Also it doesn't matter if you throw images out what is on the first page of newest first or most popular (unless you advocate deleting the most popular images which nobody is).

I say unless there is something obviously wrong or copyright or model issues there is no reason to delete anything (assuming you can stomach the agency policies). If it sells you win, and if someone is looking at the back of your "shop" they shouldn't be turned off by low sellers. If agencies start messing with search so total portfolio sales ratio or something like that count then maybe you should delete low sellers, otherwise no.

Uncle Pete

« Reply #42 on: February 10, 2014, 12:43 »
0
Not quite the same as shop owners. Inventory costs money. Display space costs money. Having old stale goods and out of date items on the shelf (except selling antiques) is an expense and financial liability.

We don't pay for storage, the images are already there, they are paid for and working. As Sue wrote: "Other than certain very high commercial ports repeating the same model, style or themes, I doubt if many customers bother to go through a port." I must agree.

The only people I've known to go through my collection are people here or SS forum, who want to see what I'm up to. Buyers for a photo of Curried Lamb aren't likely to look at my Tony Kanaan in a garage shots, or some pumpkin with Fall leaves, isolated on white.

I might be diverse (lacking identity) and have no special attraction or style, like someone who does pretty nature shots or layered macros, and buyers would be more likely to look through for more similar materials. I don't have that kind of collection on Microstock.

I'll rest on this. I don't sell much off my hard drives, except by request. No one ever buys an image that they can't see. Thus, leave them up or you have just removed all possibility that someone will download and license it.

I also agree with Lisa, I don't upload junk and am very selective. If it was good enough to pass for me, the first time, and pass review by an agency, it's good enough to be on the market. I can't see any advantage to churning the collection or what's on display.

No, its the  same mechanism.

and it is global, which is why shop owners throw out outdated goods.
Remember.. We are shops, arent we? Small individual shops with only 2 windows ( newest first and most popular).
So what does your shop have on display in the window? and do the customers walk by, or do they step in and begin to shop around?


 

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